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Here’s everything you need to know about India’s Paralympic stars

The trailblazing trio of Thangavelu, Deepa and Varun have given India three reasons to smile

With three medals in the kitty, India's Paralympic stars have already overtaken the country's 100+ strong Olympic contingent. There's enough reason why Thangavelu, Varun Bhati and Deepa Malik need to be added to the celebratory chorus surrounding PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik. And it's got to do with a lot more than just their astounding climb to the podium.

Mariappan Thangavelu (High-jump gold medalist)

It's either sheer coincidence or a striking premonition that his mother named him Thangavelu (literally translating into 'the golden spearhead'). But judging from her phenomenal efforts to see her son succeed, we are willing to bet on the latter.

The gold medalist from Periyavadagampatti in Tamil Nadu's Salem district lost function in his lower right-leg at the age of five when a bus ran over it. "I was told the driver was inebriated. But it doesn't matter. My right leg is now stunted. It has never grown or healed," revealed Velu in an interview to The Hindu. But it was his mother - a vegetable vendor and the family's sole breadwinner - who pushed him to excel in everything as he might have were he able-bodied. To this end, she took a Rs 3 lakh loan for Velu's treatment which, he adds, "We are still paying off." Velu's first attempt at high-jump came after his school PT master pushed him to take part in it. As it happened, he placed second among able-bodied competitors.

For making his personal best of 1.89m, which gave India only the third Paralympic gold in its history, Thangavelu has been showered with accolades and also a prize sum of Rs 2 crore from the Tamil Nadu government.

Deepa Malik (Shot put silver medalist)

From riding a quad bike from Chennai to Delhi and swimming an entire kilometre upstream the Yamuna to her latest laurel in winning a silver for her country, Deepa Malik is a born champion. The fact that she doesn't have the use of her legs is only incidental. It's been 17 years since a spinal tumour left this 45-year-old champion paralyzed from the waist-down. But it was only her legs that Deepa lost to the tumour, not her grit and thirst for adventure. The Gurgaon-based wife of an army officer took up Paralympic sports only much later, but has already had stints in javelin and swimming.

Making a personal best throw of 4.61m in her sixth attempt, Deepa clinched the country's third medal on Monday. She's also the oldest athlete on the team.

Varun Singh Bhati (High-jump bronze medalist)

Varun Singh Bhati, a 22-year-old athlete from Noida, is no stranger to medals, having competed in the Doha games and climbing many podiums in his short career. But his showcase in Rio was undoubtedly his best so far. Scripting a terrific day for India at the Paralympics, Varun's inspirational story began when he lost his left-leg to a polio attack at a young age. That didn't deter him from making the A qualification (initial selection round) cut for London 2012 with a 1.60m jump. Qualifying for the Rio Paralympics as a leading medal hopeful, Varun gave his best performance of 1.86m, falling just shy of Thangavelu's 1.89m to clinch Bronze.

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